The coordinated evolution of ecological environment,public service,and tourism economy along the Silk Road Economic Belt,using the Dual-Carbon Targets

Carbon peak and carbon neutrality(dual-carbon)are important targets for the international response to climate change.The Silk Road Economic Belt is a strategic resource region and is important for future ecological environment and tourism development.Based on the“dual-carbon”targets,the Single index quantification,Multiple index synthesis,and Poly-criteria integration evaluation model were used in this study to measure the coordinated development index of the ecological environment,public service,and tourism economy along the Silk Road Economic Belt and to analyze its spatial and temporal evolution.Further,it explores the dynamic evolution and development trend of the three systems using the Kernel Density and Grey Markov Prediction Model.The results show that the coordinated development index along this region needs to be improved during the study period.Furthermore,the coordinated development index of the Southwest region is relatively higher than that of the Northwest region.From the development trend of the three systems,all of them develop in a stable manner;however,the tourism economy system is easily affected by external disturbances.The coordinated development index of the three systems changes dynamically and tends to be in a good state of coordination.There is a certain spatial and temporal heterogeneity.The gravity center of the coordinated development index has been in the Southwest region.During the forecast period,the coordinated development index along this region will improve significantly,while insufficient and unbalanced development will continue.

Impact of coupling coordination development of port and city environments on urban economic competitiveness:Evidence from the coastal port cities in eastern China

Promoting the coupling coordination development of port and its hinterland city environments is an important way to improve urban economic competitiveness.Based on relevant data of 13 coastal port cities in eastern China from 2000 to 2018,this study explores the coupling coordination development of port and city environments and its impact on urban economic competitiveness by constructing the coupling coordination degree model and the panel threshold model.The research results show that:(1)In terms of the coupling coordination development of port and city environments,most coastal ports and their hinterland cities are in a state of moderate or serious disorder.Overall,the degree of coupling coordination of port and city environments needs to be further improved;(2)The coupling coordination degree of port and city environments has a significant impact on urban economic competitiveness,and this effect gradually increases with the development of the ports and the urban economy.Among the variables that impact the urban economic competitiveness,fixed assets investment and foreign trade are significant factors that can enhance urban economic competitiveness.(3)At present,there is a“U-shaped”relationship between the coupling coordination degree of port-city environments and the urban economic competitiveness.This relationship lies on the right side of the inflection point of the“U-shaped”curve.Therefore,following the concept of assigning priority to ecological development,expanding fixed assets investment and actively developing foreign trade can further enhance the urban economic competitiveness.

Telecommunications and Energy Infrastructure Sharing: Technical and Socio-Economic Impact Analysis in a Multi-Operator Environment in Burundi

The sharing of telecommunications infrastructure and power supply equipment is currently an applicable and very common model for grouping signal transmission and reception equipment and their power supply on the same site to ensure coverage of fixed, mobile, Internet and radio and television broadcasting networks. This study consists of producing an inventory of telecommunications and energy infrastructure sharing, focusing on the one hand on analyzing the impacts of active and passive sharing of telecommunications infrastructure from a technical point of view, particularly in terms of legal framework, deployment, coverage and exposure to electromagnetic radiation, and on the other hand on identifying the effects of infrastructure sharing from a socio-economic point of view in a multi-operator mobile telephony environment, by indicating the economic value of the revenue generated as a result of infrastructure sharing. Finally, the results will contribute to identify strategies for ensuring maximum deployment and coverage of the country, and for developing the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector in order to contribute to the digital transformation by digitising services using mobile telephony and the Internet in Burundi.

Identification of Heterogeneity of Social and Economic Environment of Land Uses in China

The robust principal component analysis （RPCA） is a technique of multivariate statistics to assess the social and economic environment quality. This paper aims to explore a RPCA algorithm to analyze the spatial heterogeneity of social and economic environment of land uses （SEELU）. RPCA supplies one of the most efficient methods to derive the most important components or factors affecting the regional difference of the social and economic environment. According to the spatial distributions of the levels of SEELU,the total land resources of China were divided into eight zones numbered by Ⅰ to Ⅷ which spatially referred to the eight levels of SEELU.

Relation between Economic Development Level and Resource and Environment Carrying Capacity of Central Area of Yunnan Province Based on Decoupling Analysis

Based on the decoupiing theory and method, an indicator system was built for the relation between economic development level and resource and environment carrying capacity. And the study was carried out on decoupling degree and temporal changes of economic development level and resource and environment carrying ca- pacity in the central area of Yunnan Province. Results indicated that （i） the economic development level and resource and environment carrying capacity in the central area of Yunnan Province mainly experienced strong decoupling, weak decoupling, and ex- pansive negative coupling, and in general it was strong decoupling, and it took on re- verse ＂N＂ in temporal changes. （ii） Change rate of economic development level in the central area of Yunnan Province was greater than zero, but the amplitude of change was not large, while the change rate of resource and environment carrying capacity was negative in 2007-2008, and it was positive in the rest years; from 2007, it took on gradual expansion trend, and scissors difference gradually increased after experi- encing reverse ＂V＂ change. （iii） The strong decoupling was the main situation and it reached the peak value in T5 period and T6 pedod.

Spatio-temporal Difference and Influencing Factors of Environmental Adaptability Measurement of Human-sea Economic System in Liaoning Coastal Area

Adaptability theory is an important tool to analyze the degree, mechanism and process of interaction between human and environment, which provides a new perspective for the research of sustainability assessment. Based on the entropy weight-TOPSIS method and the panel Tobit model from the perspective of adaptability, spatio-temporal difference and influencing factors of environmental adaptability assessment of human-sea economic system in Liaoning coastal area was measured by using the city panel data from 2000 to 2014. The results indicate that: 1) The environmental adaptability of human-sea economic system in Liaoning coastal area rose slowly from 2000 to 2014, the developing trend of each city was linearly related, and Dalian was in a leading position. 2) The different adaptability elements and adaptability subsystem show polarization phenomenon and completely different regional evolution characteristics. The adaptability of human-sea environment system and human-sea economic system rose slowly and had the characteristics of linear relationship, and the adaptability of human-sea environment system is the main reason for the difference of environmental adaptability of human-sea economic system. 3) Science and technology, environmental management, marine economic development level, port construction are the driving factors of the healthy development of environmental adaptability of urban human-sea economic system.

An overview of the resources and environment conditions and major geological problems in the Yangtze River economic zone, China

Focusing on the Yangtze River economic zone,the previous geological researches are systematically summarized,resources and environment conditions and major geological problems which are needing to be concerned in land planning and construction are studied.The results show that the resource conditions of cultivated land,shale gas,geotherm,lithium and so on are superior in the Yangtze River economic zone,and the resources and environment conditions are conducive to develop the modern agriculture,clean energy industry and strategic emerging industries.3×1013 m^2 farmlands without heavy metal pollution are concentrated;there are three national level shale gas exploration and development bases with explored reserves of 5.441×1011 m^3;geothermal availability is 2.4×109 t of standard coal each year,equivalent to 19% of the amount of coal in 2014;Asia's largest energy lithium metal ore deposit is found.In some parts of Yangtze River economic zone,there are some major geological problems such as active faults,karst collapse,ground subsidence,landslide-collapse-debris flow,affecting the river-crossing channels,high-speed railway,urban agglomeration and green ecological corridor planning and construction.Those problems should be concerned,and the relevant suggestions and countermeasures are put forward.Meanwhile,the ideas to further support the development of the Yangtze River economic zone are put forward.

Decoupling scenario of economic growth and ecological environment pressure and influence factors of carbon emissions in Shandong Province

Based on the panel data of 17 prefecture-level cities in Shandong Province from 2007 to 2016,this paper studies the decoupling relationship between economic growth and ecological environment pressure in different prefecture-level cities in Shandong Province,and analyses the influencing factors by using decoupling model and LMDI decomposition model.It concludes that the economic growth of the main cities in Shandong Province is relatively decoupled from the pressure of ecological environment;the population and economic factors are the main factors leading to the increase of carbon emissions,and the energy efficiency is constantly improving in China,which contributes to carbon emissions reduction in those areas.On the side,it demonstrates the basis and realistic possibility of the transformation of new and old kinetic energy.

Paths for the Coordinated Development of Rural Economy and Environment in Economically Underdeveloped Areas——A Case of Huaian,China

Taking Huaian as an example,the rural economic and environmental problems in economically underdeveloped areas are expounded.The results show that rural areas in economically underdeveloped areas confront with lagged economic development,serious environmental pollutionand scarce shortage of equipments for treating environmental pollution.The causes of problems are analyzed,including inadequate fiscal supportfrom the local government;unscientific system for assessing government officers' performances;backward ideas in environmental protection and im-perfect laws and regulations on environmental protection.Based on these causes,the strategy of employing the circular economy to promote the co-ordinated development of rural environment and economy in economically underdeveloped areas is put forward.The strategy covers transformingthe way of agricultural production;adjusting agricultural production structure;positively collecting funds and increasing the input on handling rural en-vironmental problems;strengthening the efforts on promotion and education,and forming the healthy habits of consumption;enforcing supervisionand establishing a professional administration team for protecting rural environment;laying stress on rural technological innovation and strengtheningthe force of expansion;accelerating the path of industrialization and promoting the industrialization of villages and towns vigorously.

Dynamic Analysis of Coupling Relationship between Economic Development and Ecological Environment Based on Entropy Method——A Case Study of Xi'an City

[Objective] The aim was to study the coupling relationship between economic development and ecological environment. [Method] Firstly, the evaluation index system for the coupling system of economic development and ecological environment in Xi’an City was established, then the dynamic variation of coupling relationship between economic development and ecological environment in Xi’an City from 2001 to 2010 was analyzed by using entropy method, finally some corresponding suggestions were put forward according to the problems in the current development model. [Result] The economic development and ecological environment of Xi’an have made a significant upgrading and improvement from 2001 to 2010, namely showing a stable upward trend on the whole, and were in a well-coordinated development state in 2010. However, the development level of ecological environment obviously lagged behind economic development level. In addition, there were obvious differences in the development rate of sub-systems, that is, economic efficiency and economic level developed rapidly, while the carrying capacity of ecological environment and economic vitality grew slowly and unstably. [Conclusion] The research could provide theoretical bases for the establishment of strategies for the coordinated development economy and environment in Xi’an City.

Coordinated Development of Land Use and Ecological Environment in Hefei Economic Circle

From the land use and ecological environment of Hefei Economic Circle,this paper established two sets of subsystem evaluation indicator system. It separately determined the weight coefficient of indicators in two indicator system. Using the coordination degree model,it made a scientific evaluation and analysis of coordinated development of land use and ecological environment in Hefei Economic Circle. Finally,on the basis of analysis results,it came up with pertinent recommendations for coordinated development of land use and ecological environment in Hefei Economic Circle.

Relationship between the Environment and Economic Growth in China via Exports: A Perspective of Ecological Impact (2000-2014)

China’s swift and substantial economic growth over the past 20 years has made the country one of the top industrial powers in the world, second only the United States. From the perspective of ecology and the impact on the environment produced by economic and industrial growth, the exports that have driven rapid growth have also resulted in an alarming level of environmental pollution in major Chinese cities. Research has shown that the Chinese government’s investment in bringing down pollution levels has been insufficient and ineffective. The monetary amount allocated for pollution reduction has barely reached 0.15% of the country’s GDP and has failed to meaningfully reverse the effects of industrialization, including increased exports and economic growth rates affecting China’s ecology. The present study investigated China’s ecological situation in terms of the industrial production that has generated its level of exports, with special focus on problems related to water, air, and solid waste. An econometric analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between the main variables. The exports and GDP (dependent variable), air pollution, water pollution, and industrial solid waste (independent variables) were provided by the Institute of Statistics and the Environment Institute of China for this study. The data was managed in Econometric Eviews 7.0 software and yielded an adjusted R2 of 96.09% (high correlation) with an interesting correlation between the exports and three independent variables;after subsequent variable analysis, we found that investments in water and industrial solid waste were not significant (i.e., that said investments have failed to solve the pollution problem). It is necessary to review the Chinese investment policy with special attention to these variables to appropriately respond to China’s ecological crisis.

Study on the Economic Insulation Thickness of the Buried Hot Oil Pipelines Based on Environment Factors

It is important to determine the insulation thickness in the design of the buried hot oil pipelines.The economic thickness of the insulation layer not only meets the needs of the project but also maximizes the investment and environmental benefits.However,as a significant evaluation,the environmental factors haven’t been considered in the previous study.Considering this factor,the mathematical model of economic insulation thickness of the buried hot oil pipelines is built in this paper,which is solved by the golden section method while considering the costs of investment,operation,environment,the time value of money.The environmental cost is determined according to the pollutant discharge calculated through relating heat loss of the pipelines to the air emission while building the model.The results primarily showed that the most saving fuel is natural gas,followed by LPG,fuel oil,and coal.The fuel consumption for identical insulation thickness is in the order:coal,fuel oil,LPG,and natural gas.When taking the environmental costs into account,the thicker the economic insulation layer is,the higher cost it will be.Meanwhile,the more pollutant discharge,the thicker the economic insulation layer will be.

Can environmental sustainability be decoupled from economic growth? Empirical evidence from Eastern Europe using the common correlated effect mean group test

The European Union(EU) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD) aim to develop long-term policies for their respective member countries. Having observed increasing dangers to the environment posed by rising economic growth, they are seeking pathways to enable policy action on economic growth and environmental sustainability. Given the facts in theoretical and empirical studies, this study assessed the validity of the decoupling hypothesis by investigating asymmetricity in the relationship between environmental sustainability and economic growth in nine Eastern European countries from 1998 to 2017 using the cross-section augmented Dickey-Fuller(CADF) unit root, panel corrected standard error(PCSE), common correlated effect mean group(CCEMG), and Dumitrescu Hurlin causality approaches. Both population growth and drinking water are used as controlled variables. The outcomes establish strong cointegration among all the variables of interest. According to the results of CCEMG test, economic growth exerts short-term environmental degradation but has long-term environmental benefits in Eastern Europe;and population growth and drinking water exert a positive effect on environmental sustainability in both the short-and long-run. The results of Dumitrescu Hurlin causality test indicate that environmental sustainability is unidirectionally affected by economic growth. Based on these outcomes, we suggest the following policies:(1) the EU and OECD should implement member-targeted policies on economic growth and fossil-fuel use towards regulating industrial pollution, water use, and population control;and(2) the EU and OECD member countries should invest in environmental technologies through green research and development(R&D) to transform their dirty industrial processes and ensure productive energy use.

PROBLEMS OF THE AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT AND COUNTERMEASURES IN RAPID ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE ZHUJIANG RIVER DELTA

The Zhujiang (Pearl) River Delta is the rapid economic development region in China since the opening and reform door policy was carried out in 1978. Being the rapid development of industry and city, the impact on the aquatic environmental quality was sig

Effect of Environment and Genetic Recombination on Subspecies and Economic Trait Differentiation in the F_2 and F_3 Generations from indicajaponica Hybridization

indica and japonica are the two most important subspecies of Asian cultivated rice. Identifying mechanisms responsible for population differentiation in these subspecies is important for indica-japonica hybridization breeding. In this study, subspecies and economic trait differentiation patterns were analyzed using morphological and molecular （InDel and Intron Length Polymorphism） data in F2 and F3 populations derived from indica-japonica hybridization. Populations were grown in Liaoning and Guangdong provinces, China, with F3 populations generated from F2 populations using bulk harvesting （BM） and single-seed descent methods （SSD）. Segregation distortion was detected in F3-BM populations, but not in F3- SSD or in F2 populations. Superior performance was observed with respect to economic traits in Liaoning compared with that in Guangdong and 1 000-grain weight （KW）, seed setting rate （SSR） and grain yield per plant （GYP） were significantly correlated with indica and japonica subspecies types. Analysis of molecular and morphological data demonstrated that the environment is the main factor giving rise to population differentiation in indica-japonica hybridization. In addition, we also found that KW, SSR and GYP are related to subspecies characteristics and kinship, which is possibly a significant factor resulting in economic trait differentiation and determining environmental adaptability. Our study has provided new insights into the process of population differentiation in these subspecies to inform indica-japonica hybridization breeding.

Evaluating Economic Benefits of Water Diversion Project for Environment Improvement: A Case Study

The research in this paper was based on the project of water diversion from the Yangtze River to the Taihu Lake which significantly improves water environment of the lake and brings obvious economic benefits for surrounding areas. An analytical framework is developed on evaluating benefits of water supply to Huzhou city from project of water diversion from Yangtze River to Taihu Lake, including: (1) the value-added of water supply on the project are divided into four parts according to the characteristics of Hangzhou- Jiax-ing-Huzhou Plain area. (2) The utilization ratio of water diversion is defined based on the features of water resources. (3) The water supply effects on industries and residents’ living are explored using partition coeffi-cient method in Huzhou city. Grey relation technique is used to examine the relationship between water use and industrial development in Huzhou, which aims to clarify the rationality of partition coefficient method. The results indicate that benefit of water diversion from Yangtze River to Taihu Lake to tertiary industry of Huzhou city is the highest, while that of industry is the lowest.

Total Factor Productivity and Influence Factors of Economic Environment in the Yellow River Delta

The paper analyzed total factor productivity of Binzhou City, and key factors that influence its economic growth and effluent discharge. The results showed that(i) production efficiency of the city during 2005–2013 kept stable, mean of Malmquist-Luenberger index was 1.044,9 without considering effluent discharge, and the average annual increase rate was 4.49%, and that was 1.020,4 considering effluent discharge, the average annual increase rate was 2.04%, and the increase rate reduced by 2.45%.(ii) GDP growth showed significant negative correlation and positive correlation with capital input and energy input, but insignificant negative correlation and positive correlation with labor force input and technological progress.(iii) Effluent discharge showed insignificant negative correlation and positive correlation with capital input and energy input, but significant negative correlation and positive correlation with labor force input and technological progress.

The environment of coal mining areas and the economic evaluation of the land reclamation

The environment impact of the coal resources mining was analyzed. The method of economic evaluation for the coal mining was established to analyze land destruction. The opportunity cost method was used to quantitatively analyze and estimate the economic loss of the land destruction by coal mining. At the same time, the dump land reclamation of the Yuanbaoshan Open Pit was taken as an example to evaluate environmental and economical benefit with the method of economic evaluation for the coal mining areas land reclamation.

Energy, Environment, Economic Life Cycle Assessment of Cassava-based Ethanol Used as Automotive Fuel in Guangxi Province, China

A life-cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out to compare the energy, environmental and economic impacts of converting cassava to fuel ethanol in Guangxi Province, China. The entire life cycle is a system that includes stages from cassava farming to ethanol fuel combustion. A computer-based model was developed to assess energy, environmental, and economic (EEE) life cycle implication of cassava-based ethanol fuel. The LCA results for fuel ethanol were compared to conventional gasoline (CG) as a base-line case. On the life-cycle bases, the use of cassava-based ethanol fuel in Guangxi may consume more energy but reduce greenhouse gas, VOC, and CO emissions. Life cycle cost results indicate that although fuel ethanol currently is not competitive compared to conventional gasoline, it has great potentials when there are subsidies and/or yields of cassava planting are improved. In terms of balancing the energy, environmental and economical, the introduction form of cassava-based ethanol fuel would be E10. The assessment results generated from this study provide an important reference for Guangxi policy makers to better understand the trade-offs among energy, environmental effects, and economics for the most effective using of regional energy resources.